Free Charlene Sands by Winning Jennas Heart Page B

farm.”
    “He was nothing but a gambler…like you.”
    “I wouldn’t have taken your farm even if the deed had been real. You have to believe that.”
    Jenna held back a well of tears, shaking her head. He could see her whole body trembling. “There’s nothing you can say to make this right. I think you should leave.”
    Cash thought hard about this and came to the same conclusion. She was right. He had no place with Jenna Duncan. He would always be the man Jenna would regard as having stolen her innocence and taken away her future. He’d been duped and betrayed by her brother, just as she had, but he couldn’t fight her hatred of gamblers. That much was painfully clear. Her mind was set.
    Life with her had been a dream for a man with no past. But Cash recalled his past now, and he knew he wasn’t fit for a woman like Jenna. He knew he could never keep her, never stay here on this farm and make her happy. It wasn’t even an option.
    From the time he was ten years old, all Cash had ever known was gambling. It was what he did,who he was. He’d been given a glimpse of a life he might have had, if his own life had been different, but Cash wasn’t fool enough to believe he could change. He knew only one thing, only one way to survive. And he knew what was best for Jenna. “I’ll leave in the morning, Jenna. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen, but it did and I’m sorry you were hurt.”
    “I want you out of this house,” Jenna demanded. “Now.”
    “I’ll sleep in the barn. I’ll be gone at first light.” Hell, he’d leave now, if it meant taking that scowl off Jenna’s face, if it meant removing her pain and the hurt he’d caused. But he had to speak to Ben. He had to make sure Ben and Rosalinda knew the truth. He had to make sure they would take special care of Jenna now. She was going to need them to get through this.
    Cash dipped into his long coat once more. There was something else in there, a stash of cash for emergencies. Cash hadn’t existed all these years on his own without a back-up plan. He’d always known how to survive.
    He rolled up the money and handed it to Jenna. “Take this, for the farm. It’ll see you through the winter.”
    Jenna’s look of disgust nearly destroyed him. Memories of his earlier days, when townsfolk gazed upon with the very same sentiments, flooded in, reminding him of a time when he’d been regardedas dirty and foul, an unwanted youth who had been cast out from decent society.
    “I don’t want gambling money.” She shoved it away with all of her slight might. “Just leave, Mr. Callahan. And never come back.”
    Jenna hadn’t awoken from her bad dream, as she’d prayed. The nightmare was all too real. She curled up in her bed that night, her head propped by a pillow, staring up at the ceiling, lifeless. There were no more tears to shed, no greater pain than she’d suffered today. She didn’t know what purpose her life held. She was tired, so tired of fighting. If it wasn’t for Ben and Rosalinda, she’d be all alone in this world.
    How could she face the day, the sun shining bright bringing hope, when all Jenna felt now was darkness and despair? She’d not shed another tear, yet she bled inside for the children she wouldn’t have, for the family life she’d craved. All she’d wanted in life was to find love.
    She had Ben and Rosalinda’s kind, loving support and thank heavens for them. They’d been like family to her. And their son Antonio, the eager young boy who was rapidly becoming a man before her eyes, had been like a brother.
    Jenna knew they wouldn’t judge her, but how could she possibly face them? She’d been so sure, so absolutely certain the man she’d saved had beenher Blue. She’d married the man, bedded him. Oh, Lord!
    “Jenna Leah Duncan, you are a fool.”
    She closed her eyes then and prayed for sleep. Her body needed rest, having been drained from a tumultuous two days of highs and lows. Finding love, getting married,